Whoops

Time just keeps dribbling on whether you like it or not. The near future always looks predictable until you get there and realise it may sort of look like you had envisioned, but feels, sounds and smells completely different. The last time I updated this I was somewhere else, the time before that I was somewhere completely different. Now I'm here, but I'm not sure for how long and whether I like it or not. When I first started The Meadow Man I had a completely different opinion regarding what I wanted a feature length animation to be than I did two years later when I had finished the first draft of the script, and now, many years after that I have yet a new set of opinions. When I first started I thought I would just work solidly on my big idea until it was done, and that would take me a couple of years. I didn't not predict that I would (a) not be living in my happy peaceful little house for much longer, would (b) go a bit crazy and need to escape the country for a few months (twice) (c) get sick of my idea and have to change it drastically (a few times) (d) need to make smaller animations to make money (e) get an opportunity to make a series for TV that ultimately fell through due to lack of communication with producers and lack of eventual funds (plus a little bit of (b)(c) and (d), (f) some really heavy shit that doesn't need wording and finally (g) that if I ever left it for a long period of time without continuing that I would be too intimidated by the scale of it all to return.

Right now this post is looking dangerously like the last one I made back in 2011, full of excuses. If I have learnt anything, it's that I should never tell anyone anything until I am ready to offer it. I just want to assure anyone that thinks I have been slowly chipping away at The Meadow Man all these years that I haven't. I've mainly been putting it off due to all the reasons I said and also that it destroys me to make a 10 minute cartoon for youtube, god knows what a feature would do to me. That isn't to say I have quit. I just need to manage myself, my time and my projects a little better.

I suppose the point of this post is to say AHHHHHHHHGHGGHG, and also HMMMMMM. If I could finish one project of all the ones I have ever started it would be The Meadow Man. I guess it is probably time to start hiring people to get this done.....but this is difficult since I am a complete control freak and I need to explain things in such detail that I probably could have done it myself in the time it takes to describe exactly what I need.

2014 is just a number, it means nothing. When this finally gets done, the length it took will be irrelevant.

Well......

I must admit, I haven't been very good at updating this blog. This post will consist of a series of excuses. Let's start with a quote:

"It doesn't matter how slowly you, so long as you do not stop"

I don't remember who said that, or if I quoted it properly, but it fits. I have not stopped making The Meadow Man, but I am not doing much to it at the moment. Let's try and understand why:

1. I needed to make some money so I did some freelance stuff.

2. I dedicated a few months to the Meadow Man then needed to make money again.

3. I went a little bit insane.

4. I took a break from my work and went on a travelling adventure to America.

5. Now I am back without a place of my own and all my stuff in boxes.

6. I need to make money again.

7. Global financial crisis.

8. I need to re-write it.

9. I wasn't lying when I said it would take forever.

So all you need to know is that I still will make it, but I need money, workspace, a team of robots and a load of other essential life elements to prevent me from going insane again. Duke Nukem Forever came out eventually and so will The Meadow Man - hopefully it won't be a big steaming pile of shit like Duke. I promise it won't.

Right now I am currently doing a lot of writing and having the occasional meeting. Not for The Meadow Man but for other exciting projects. One day I will finish everything I have started and then have a little sleep. Then I will start a set of new projects and keep people waiting again. I shall repeat this until I die.

Current status update.

1. I am almost pleased with the script. It still changes every day, but I feel the basics are all there.

2. I have sketched most of the main characters. There are loads of minor characters that need designing but the main ones are down.

3. I have certain scenes, areas, backgrounds sketched and designed.

4. I am almost ready to start recording dialogue.

5. I am making a "making of" video as I make this.

follow me on twitter for fast blasts.

Voice actors chosen.

I have selected my voice people for The Meadow Man. They are:

Andrew Dennis, Tam Hinton, Joshua Tomar, Beag Horn, Christian Pickup and Myself. Voice recording will begin as soon as I am moderately pleased with the script.

A huge thanks to all the other people who sent in their voices for consideration. It was great to have such a selection and I am very satisfied with the outcome. There were over 600 demos sent in and I had lots of fun going through them. Sorry I couldn't reply to everyone personally, but it would probably take me about a month to do that.

I'll keep you all updated on what's happening and check my twitter for smaller things.

Still here...

Yes, updates have been few. Time just flies by. I am still changing my script every day. I don't know if it's long enough, if it's too long, if it makes enough sense or if it makes too much sense. I have millions of sketches, each with millions of notes. There are bits of everything everywhere. The paid work I'm doing for the BBC is holding me up a bit, but that's my main source of income at the moment so it needs to be done. I shall hopefully come to some decisions regarding voice actors in the next few weeks and then hopefully get to a stage where I'm happy with my script. See -- that's why I haven't been updating, because my updates aren't very exciting. You're probably expecting trailers and screenshots and I give you excuses, but it's taking longer than I had imagined to get anywhere. For some reason I set up a twitter account, which I'll probably update more regularly than anything else....because they seem to welcome pointless irrelevant news there.

twshitter

Yeah, some arseholes took the names doki66,fatpie,davidfirth etc. What arseholes.